Resilient cushion



Sept. 28, 1965 N. GRIMSHAW 3,2 8,0

RESILIENT CUSHION Filed Nov. 19, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 20 188 8 W TWPWVENTOR N, G/P/MJ/IAW Sept. 28, 1965 N. GRIMSHAW 3,203,035

RESILIENT CUSHION Filed Nov. 19, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mvzmon /V.GRl/IJWAW United States Patent 3,208,085 RESILIENT CUSHION NormanGrimshaw, Poynton, Cheshire, England, ass gnor to Vitafoam Limited, acorporation of Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and the Isle of ManFiled Nov. 19, 1962, Ser. No. 238,464 2 Claims. (Cl. 5-345) Thisinvention relates generally to furniture, and more particularly toresilient cushions for seats, backrests or the like. The invention findsparticular though not exclusive utility in vehicle seats and backrestsfor the motor vehicle industry.

Devices of this character must be economically produced and yet becapable of withstanding abuse, maintaining their shape, and providingcomfort to the user. Prior art devices of this general type haveutilized a framework in which springs, wire mesh, or other supports weresecured to provide some resiliency and on which supports wadding, foamedlatex or other stufi'lng was placed; a cover of cloth, leather orsynthetic fabric or the like was then stretched over the stuffing andsecured therearound. These devices are not only costly to manufacturebecause of the numerous operations required, but they did not maintaintheir shape or form after a period of use because of the shifting orloosening of the various materials in the finished cushion.

Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention is to provide anintegral and composite, resilient cushion which is formed as a Singleunit. The cushion provided by the present invention can be producedrapidly and economically with a minimum of operations or labour ingeneral; it is capable of retaining its shape and resiliency throughrepeated and severe use; it is attractive in appearance and of cleandesign; and it is comfortable.

Other aspects of the invention relate to methods for making the abovecushion.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willappear hereinafter as this disclosure progresses; reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of certain parts of a cush ion which areused in the present invention;

FIG. 1a is an enlarged, fragmentary view of one portion of FIG. 1device, as indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of a mold showing the cover in the raisedposition and the base in cross section and,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a cushion made in accordance withthe present invention a portion being broken away and shown in sectionfor clarity.

Referring in greater detail to the drawings, a rigid frame is providedwhich may be of any desired material, shape, or size. Metal tubular orrod stock is particularly satisfactory for such a frame. As the seat orbackrest of a chair or the like is usually rectangular the frame 10 ispreferably of that shape.

A resilient and generally fiat support 11 is provided within andattached to the rigid frame. This resilient support may be made of anyone of various materials, but natural or synthetic rubber is preferablebecause of its ability to provide uniform and lasting support across theentire area of the cushion.

The support 11 has a series of tongues 14 at spaced locations around itsperiphery. A metal clip 13 is bonded in each tongue for reinforcingpurposes and which forms a particularly strong union with its respectivetongue.

The support 11 is secured under tension within the rigid frame 10 byattaching means 15 which take the form of double-ended hooks that extendat one end through amass Patented Sept. 28, 1965 the tongue and itsassociated clip and at the other end extend through an aperture 16 inthe frame.

It will be noted that a considerable space extends between the supportproper and the frame.

To carry out the method of the present invention a two piece mold isprovided having a cover 17 and a base 18 having a cavity 18a of thedesired shape. The frame 10 and the attached support 11 as shown in FIG.1 are firmly secured to the inside surface 17a of lid 17 in any suitablemanner. According to one of the methods contemplated by the presentinvention, a sheet 19 of suitably pre-formed, pre-fused polyvinylchloride is placed in the cavity 18:: and conforms to the size and shapethereof.

Polyether 29 is then poured into the cavity 18a and the cover 17 thenclosed over the base. The polyether 20 is then allowed to foam up tocompletely fill the mold cavity, including flowing through holes 11a ofthe support and between and around the spaces between the frame supportand attaching means.

The mold is then placed in a curing oven (not shown) to cure thepolyether foam. The curing time may vary depending on the requiredproperties of the finished product, temperatures and other factors, buta time range of five to fifteen minutes at a temperature of about C. hasbeen found to be satisfactory. In any event sufficient heat is appliedto raise the temperature of the contents of the mold to cure thepolyether, but this heat should be insufiicient to affect the pre-fusedpolyvinyl chloride sheet 19.

During the curing process the polyether is caused to adhere tightly tothe frame 10, support 11 and polyvinyl chloride sheet 19.

After the mold is cooled sufiiciently, the completed cushion is removedfrom the mold as an integral and one-piece unit.

As an alternative to the above process, the base 18 of the mold isheated, and the polyvinyl chloride may then be sprayed into the moldcavity and gelled and cured by the heat. Then the rest of the aboveprocess is carried out as described.

As still another alternative, the polyether may be poured into the moldafter the polyvinyl chloride has gelled, but prior to curing thereof.The polyvinyl chloride is then cured during or after the foaming of thepolyether as above described.

If it is desired to provide a covering for the back side of the cushion,another sheet or spraying of polyvinyl as above described is placedbetween the inside of the lid 17 and the sub-assembly of the frame 10and support 11. When the polyether then foams in the closed mold, itwill adhere to the inside of the polyvinyl layer and secure it to therest of the cushion. Thereby a completely covered cushion will beprovided, such as for use as a backrest cushion of an automobile.

An uncovered unitary seat may be made by the above process, in whichcase the polyvinyl chloride would not be present, either in sheet orsprayed form. A seat having no polyvinyl chloride cover would, ofcourse, require a cover and this may be of any known seat coveringmaterial.

The advantages of the above processes lie in the fact that the unitaryseat or seat back can be more rapidly and economically produced than themanufacture of conventional seating. No skilled labour is required forthe assembly of springs and upholstery as has previously been the case.

Various modes of carrying out the invention are contemplated as beingwithin the scope of the following claims particularly pointing out anddistinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as theinvention.

I claim:

1. A composite and integral, resilient cushion comprising a rigid framehaving an open centre, a resilient support secured under tension in andto said frame, attaching means for attaching said support to said frame,and foamed and cured polyether which has been poured around said supportand which when cooled forms a cushion and extends into the space betweensaid frame and support and surrounds said attaching means and saidresilient support and is firmly bonded to said support, said attachingmeans and frame.

'2. A composite and integral, resilient cushion comprising a rigid framehaving an open centre, a fiat sheet of perforated rubber having aplurality of tongues extending outwardly at spaced locations around itsperiphe ery, attaching means securing said tongues to said frame wherebysaid rubber is secured under tension in and to said frame, foamed andcured polyether which has been References Cited by the Examiner UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 2,532,713 12/50 Gottfried 297452 2,907,074 10/59 Rhodes26745 2,976,577 3/61 Gould 264-45 3,084,980 4/63 Lawson 297-4553,117,819 1/64 Kudriavetz 297452 FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

1. A COMPOSITE AND INTEGRAL, RESILIENT CUSHION COMPRISING A RIGID FRAMEHAVING AN OPEN CENTRE, A RESILIENT SUPPORT SECURED UNDER TENSION IN ANDTO SAID FRAME, ATTACHING MEANS FOR ATTACHING SAID SUPPORT TO SAID FRAME,AND FOAMED AND CURED POLYETHER WHICH HAS BEEN POURED AROUND SAID SUPPORTAND WHICH WHEN COOLED FORMS A CUSHION AND EXTENDS INTO THE SPACE BETWEENSAID FRAME AND SUPPORT AND SURROUNDS SAID ATTACHING MEANS AND SAIDRESILIENT SUPPORT AND IS FIRMLY BONDED TO SAID SUPPORT, SAID ATTACHINGMEANS AND FRAME.